BYBI: Choosing Synchronous versus Asynchronous Formats √ §

With the shift to online teaching, many faculty have been experimenting with translating their traditional teaching techniques to either synchronous or asynchronous formats. Some strategies or activities from the traditional classroom are still viable, or even enhanced, by the technological affordances of synchronous online teaching. Other activities seem to work better, or students engage in them more deeply, if they are allowed to complete them on their own time and at their own pace. How have you made decisions about what to do synchronously versus asynchronously in your online courses? What challenges and successes have you encountered getting students to engage with you, the concepts and materials, and each other in synchronous or asynchronous modes? Have you tried certain activities in both modes, and if so, which seemed to work better, and why?

The emphasis in this session will be on the pedagogies of synchronous versus asynchronous teaching and learning--how these approaches can help you achieve your goals for student learning during remote instruction. While we will discuss the affordances that technology can provide for achieving your goals, this session will not provide step-by step instructions for using online tools. Please see the training programs offered by instructional technology for specific help in using tools.